1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an ink jet recording method. In particular, the invention relates to an ink jet recording method wherein a plurality of sheets (normal paper, coated paper, postcards, envelopes, OHP (overhead projector) sheets etc.) are fed to an ink jet head one at a time, and after being printed by ink drops being discharged in the direction of the sheet by means of the ink jet head, the sheets are ejected in a stack one after the other.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 2-245356, when a sheet is ejected before the ink discharged on the surface of the sheet is fixed, ink remaining on the surface of the sheet contacts pinch rollers and paper guides in the paper ejection path and this leads to the problem of paper smudging or staining of the apparatus. This problem must be solved, so when printing is finished, paper feeding is suspended (the paper is left to stand) for a prescribed period and after that, it is ejected; that is, a technique for delaying the paper ejection operation for a prescribed period is disclosed.
On the other hand, in an ink jet recording method of the type where already printed sheets are ejected one by one in a stack, when a plurality of sheets is continuously printed, while the ink on an already printed and ejected sheet is not yet fixed, the next sheet is ejected, it is dropped onto the printed surface of the former ejected sheet and there is the problem of smudging of the printed surface of the former ejected sheet.
This kind of problem can probably be solved in the above-mentioned conventional technology by suspending paper feeding (leaving the paper to stand) for a prescribed period after printing has finished.
However, when continually printing a plurality of sheets, after printing is completed, halting an already printed sheet for a prescribed period before ejecting the sheet leads to a feeling of uneasiness on the part of the user.
That is, regardless of whether the sheet is already printed or not, it is undesirable to create a state of anxiety in the user as to whether or not the recording apparatus has suffered a breakdown, due to that sheet having been halted for a prescribed period.
An objective of this invention is to solve the abovementioned problem; to prevent smudging of printed surfaces of already ejected sheets in an ink jet recording method of the type where already printed sheets are ejected one by one in a stack, without causing the user to become anxious.